Data for the two leading companies, Vodafone and AMC, which have 86 percent of total revenues and 72 percent of subscribers, show their profit rates have considerably shrunk from 21 to 31 percent during the past two years
TIRANA, April 25 – Mobile operators saw their revenues drop for the third year in a row in 2011, reflecting the crisis impacts and increased competition which has considerably lowered tariffs. A recent report published by the Electronic and Postal Communication Authority (AKEP) shows total revenues for all four mobile operators in 2011 shrank by 6 percent to 39.2 billion lek (Euro 275 million). The market started slightly shrinking in terms of revenue in 2009 after the successful launch of the third operator, Turkish-owned Eagle Mobile in March 2008, which made competition tougher. In 2010, mobile companies’ revenues dropped by 11 percent year-on-year.
AKEP data show Vodafone Albania, which was the first operator to launch the 3G service in November 2010, increased its revenue market share to 52 percent although having a 35 percent share in terms of subscribers.
Vodafone Albania, owned at 50% by Vodafone Europe B.V. and 50% by Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V launched its GSM services in Albania in August 2001. In November 2010, Vodafone became the first operator to offer 3G service in Albania after winning a 15-year license for 31.4 million Euros.
Meanwhile, AMC the second biggest operator saw its market share in terms of revenues drop by 6 percent to 34 percent and the number of subscribers to 37 percent. Last September, AMC, the first mobile operator in Albania since 2000 part of Greece’s Cosmote Group and Deutsche Telecom, was announced the winner of the second 3G license after offering 15.1 million Euros, 2.6 million more than the price tag government had set.
Data show Turkish owned Eagle Mobile, which has been operating in Albania for four years, maintained its 12 percent market share for revenues for 2011 and had its subscribers increase by 3 percent to 21 percent.
Plus Communication, the only wholly Albanian-owned mobile operator which launched its services in late in 2010, gained a 2 percent market share and 8 percent of total subscribers.
Data for the two leading companies, Vodafone and AMC, which have 86 percent of total revenues and 72 percent of subscribers, show their profit rates have considerably shrunk during the past two years. Vodafone’s profit rate in 2011 dropped to 21 percent down from 29 percent in 2010, 42 percent in 2009 and 46 percent in 2008. Vodafone’s net income also shrank to 4.2 billion lek in 2011, down from 5.9 billion lek in 2010 and 11.4 billion lek in 2008.
Meanwhile, AMC’s profit rate also dropped to 31 percent of total revenues in 2011, down from 38 percent in 2010 and 60 percent in 2009. Its net income registered 4 billion lek drown from 6.2 billion lek in 2010 and 12 billion lek in 2009, AKEP data show.
Albania’s electronic communication market continued growing in 2011 in all its segments, mobile and fixed telephony as well as internet, according to an annual report by the Electronic and Postal Communication Authority (AKEP).
The number of mobile phone subscribers in 2011, when another fourth operator launched operations rose by 15 percent to 5.2 million, for a resident population 2.8 million people, revealing that almost every resident Albanian possesses at least two SIM cards. While Albania’s mobile penetration rate stands at a record 185 percent, the situation with fixed-line telephony lags behind with an estimated 12 percent, considerably lower to the EU 27 average rate of 45 percent.
AKEP reports some 40,000 subscribers ported their number until the end of 2011 after the service was made available in May 2011.
Increased competition and interventions by the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority have considerably lowered mobile tariffs during the past 3 years in Albania, but still remain slightly above the average in the region.
